


At Least They Didn't Break the Fountain Again

by dittomander



Category: Elena of Avalor (Cartoon)
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Guiding Light Fanzine (Elena of Avalor), Magic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-25
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-15 18:00:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29687790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dittomander/pseuds/dittomander
Summary: Elena and Mateo practice magic together in a makeshift obstacle course. My submission piece for the Guiding Light Fanzine.
Relationships: Mateo de Alva & Elena Castillo Flores
Kudos: 3
Collections: Guiding Light: An Elena of Avalor FanZine





	At Least They Didn't Break the Fountain Again

**Author's Note:**

> It was an absolute delight having the opportunity to participate in the Guiding Light Fanzine project alongside so many talented artists and writers, and now that the purchase window has closed, I'm happy to share my contribution publicly!

The palace garden looked completely transformed. A tangle of ropes, stacked crates, and haphazard beams sprawled between the hedges, with half a dozen spear-wielding suits of armor flanking the sides. The back end of the maze butted up against the garden’s outer wall, upon which perched a grumpy-looking scarecrow draped in dark fabric and holding a makeshift tamborita.

Mateo scratched the back of his head. “Are you sure we’re not going a little overboard?” he asked. “This is just supposed to be a casual practice.”

Elena gave a bright laugh. “Oh, it’ll be fine,” she assured. “Now,” she continued, ignoring Mateo’s skeptical expression, “start them up!”

Stepping forward, Mateo struck his tamborita, and with a metallic creak, the armor all sprang to life and stalked forward into the course.

“Ready?” Mateo asked, and Elena grinned.

“Are you?” she teased, and without further warning, she drew her scepter and charged ahead, with Mateo close behind her.

The first pair of armor didn’t last long; Elena skidded around a corner and struck one with _blaze_ before it could even raise its spear, and Mateo toppled the other with a well-timed _vetzi_.

Elena sprinted further into the course, weaving around obstacles and rolling under a beam, only to nearly collide with another suit of armor that stepped out in front of her. She raised her scepter, but the armor batted it away with its spear and pulled back for another strike—that never came. Magic burst against the armor’s front and it careened backward, scattering across the ground into piles of inert metal.

“Are you okay?” Mateo asked, brow creased, as Elena retrieved her scepter.

“Yeah, I’m—” she gasped, “behind you!” Before Mateo could react, Elena targeted the armor that had appeared and sent both its head and raised spear flying with a single, precise _blaze_.

Mateo chuckled breathlessly. “He got a little a _head_ of himself,” he quipped, nudging Elena, and she snorted.

They didn’t have time to rest, though; the final pair of armor charged around the wall of crates behind them, cornering them against it. Mateo quickly raised a shield around them, just in time for a spear tip to ricochet off, and Elena stepped forward, binding the already reeling armor to the ground in a column of glittering crystals. Turning on her heel, she raised her scepter alongside Mateo’s tamborita, and together, they felled the final suit of armor.

Sharing a nod, they rounded the crates and ran, unimpeded, down the final stretch of the obstacle course. Elena leaped up toward the scarecrow, and Mateo was ready with a spell, catching her midair and levitating her high enough to fire one last, powerful _blaze_ at the target. It burst into a cloud of straw and loose fabric, raining down like confetti as Mateo carefully set her back down.

Cheering, Elena ran forward for a high-five. “That went well!” she laughed. “Now, let’s get this cleaned up before poor Octavio sees what we did to the garden.”


End file.
